Captain Mike and select crew take a handful of admirers out for a spin on the Manistee; a real social paddle a dozen or so of boaters joined us for a 3 hour paddle. .A great experience, a lazy day on the river.

A rare photo opportunity finds the Hunter S. Thompson of adventure reporting hard at work; known in these parts as a cross between Twain and Hemingway; people close to him know him as the Capt'n of the O dark 30, a real William Shakespaddle..Call him what you like, just don't call him late to the pending pig roast!

Team Project Lakewell finds safe harbor at the Insta Launch Campground, the finish line of the Tip of the Mitt. Mass exodus out of Gabby as team members fall to their knees to kiss the ground. Cries of joy as the cheers "were home, were home" soon drowned out by the clanking of cocktail glasses and bottles of barley pops..Three cheers for the Captain and crew of Gabby!!

.Like the book "Find Waldo" we were coordinating a rendezvous location to pick up Lynn for the last leg of the trip; after a couple of calls it was determined we would pick up Lynn and Beverly at the boat ramp just entering the Manistee -wOo hOo....You could sense the excitement for the finish, but there was this under lying feeling that it is coming to an end; I would say everybody left Gabby wanting more, and that my friends is a good thing..We had Friday to look forward to and that was a free day; more story telling cocktails and possibly another outing with Gabby on the Manistee..to be continued...

Like kids at opening day at the pool, the excitement builds; Mark's water-wings securely fastened we start lining Gabby down the Platte River back to the blue water of Lake Michigan..Mark and the crew splish splashed their way south in soggy conditions; crazy as there was no horizon or shoreline to be seen through fog, one becomes a little disorientated bobbing around in the mixed swell..We were all out of sink with our paddles, clickty clack; hmmm what was the variable in this equation... hmmm MARK!!!.Seriously, it was nice having Mark aboard for the day, a new set of stories to be told and great updates on the TOM participants coming across on the Au Sable / Manistee Rivers. This my friends is one heck of an event..paddle paddle... to be continued